Process of handling and rolling billets.



C. W. HAWTHORNE.

PROCESS 0F HANDLING AND ROLLING BILLETS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2, |911, I 1,292,462, Patented Jan.28,1919.

* 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

C.. W. HAWTHORNE.

PROCESS 0F HANDLING'AND ROLLING BILLETS.

APPLICATION FILED IUNEZT. I9I7.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Jan. 28,

CHARLES W. HAWTHORNE, OF BUFFLO, NEW YORK, ASIGNOR TU MORGAN CONSTRUC TION COMPANY, OE

GHUSETTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETT .A CORYORTION OF MASSA- PROCESS 0F HANDLINGAND ROLLING BILLETS.

Patented aan. se, 1ere.

Gontinuetion of application No. 49,947, tiled September 10, 191,5. This application tiled June 27, 191'?.

` Serial No. 177,359.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. Haw- THonNn, a citizenof the United States, residing at Buffalo, county of Erie, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful improvement in Processes of Handling and Rolling Billets, of which the following is a specification, accompanied by drawings forming a part of the same.

This invention vrelates to a process for handling and rolling hot billets in rolling mills, and it has for its objects to .provide for rapid, easy, and Vcertain handling and rolling of the billets Without lnterference from the scale which forms upon the blllets vduring their heating in the furnace, and to provide meansv for passing the billets into the rolls without interference from or duhculty with 'scale or oxid formed on the surface of the billet. These and other objects of invention will be set forth hereinafter 1n part and in part Will be obvious herefrom.

rllhis application is a continuation of the application led by me for the same invention on the 10th day of September, 1915, Serial No. 49,947, which original ap lication Serial No. I19,947 was a division o my a, o. 28,317. rlhe mechanism herein described by which my process is carried into eect, forms I no part of my present invention, it having been described in my ccpending application filed June 27, 1917, Serial No. 177,360.

Theaccompanying drawings illustrate one manner of carrying out my improved process u in connection with one Well known 'typeof heatingfurnace. drawings,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the furnace 4in whlch the billets are heated. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the delivering end of the furnace shown in sectional view, and

In the accompanying in ,connection with anapparatus for deliver' ing the billets one by one by an endwise movement from the furnace, said apparatus being shown in plan view.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional vieu'r ofthe furnace at the delivery end, with the apparatus for removing the billets from the furnace shown in side elevation. l

Fig. 4: is a transverse sectional view of the supporting trough 16 for the pusher rod on the plane of the'brokenline 4.44, Fig. 2, the pusher rod 20 being shown as lying fiat upon the* bottom of the trough.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional View of the trough 16 on the plane of the broken line 5-5, Fig. 2, the pusher rod 10 being shown as having been turned one eighth of a revolution on its longitudinal axis.`

Fig. 6 is -a plan view of a,- w'ater cooled inclined plate forming a part of tbe-hearth "y of the furnace.

Fig. 7 is a front view of a pair of rolls representing the position of the billet in one of the roll passes.

Similar reference characters refer to siinilar parts lin the different figures.

furnace, and presented to the rolls of theV mill. In the type of furnace shown in the accompanying drawings, the billets are pushed by a stepby-step movement toward the delivery end ofthe furnace and along a hearth to a position opposite adelivery opening in the side Wall of the furnace, f

through which they are pushed by suitable mechanism and presented to the rolls of the i rolling mill. In the `above described ytype v of furnace the tops of the billets are presented to the direct action of the `heating medium, the heat and the oxygen present causing a heavy coating of oxid or scale to bc formed upon the tops of the billets.

In other Well known types of heating furnaces, the billets are pushed by a step-by step movement along a longitudinal track consisting of Water cooled pipes, raised above the bottom of the furnace, by which the heating medium is admitted to both-, the upper and under sides of the billets. In furnaces of this type the heavy oxid or scale will be formed upon both the upper' Infeeding the billets into the roll passes by the usually practised methods diiliculty 'has been experienced by reason of the rolls failing to immediately grip the billets, causing a. slipping of the rolls 'on the coating of lie . substantially free the rolled metal or inA oxid or scale on the top or bottom f the bi1* lets. The scale also, after the rolls have caught the billet, is broken and rolled into the metal, more or less impair-ing its quality and texture. In order to obviate the inof the rolls, it has been found ne `-esshry to harden the surface ot' the' rolls, thereby making it dilicult to redress the surface of the rolls in order to preserve the desired contour and size of the roll passes.

`The usually practised method is therefore subject to .various serious objections, especially when it is desired to roll the metal to exact dimensions. 'By my improved proc- Aess l maintain the two parallel and vertical sides upon each" billet, ycomparatively tree from eind or scale and confining the scale f formed on 'the billets to one or both of he remaining sidesL lVhen the billet has b( en sufficiently heated and has been brought into position to be delivered througlran opening in the sidewall of the furnace, I push the billet by an endwise movement into the grip ofthe rolls of the mill by a'mechanism which produces a positive rotative movement of the billet in order to bring its contacting or scale-free sides into contact with the Aupper and lower isurface of the roll passes, to insure vthat the scale ree sides of the' billet, or the sides which were in contact during its passage through the furnace, shall contactonly with the surfaces of the rolls, by which the reduction or coinpression of the metal is effected. By thisl means l not only obvia-te thevarious dis advantages incidentto the rolling of billets by the usually practised methods, but l. also ished product from the injurious eltects due to crowding the scale into the mass of rolled metal. This result l accomplish by bringing the sides of the-billets having' a heavyI scale thereon into vertical positions at right angles to the axes of the rolls7 so that when the billet becomes compressed by the action of therells the scale present upon the 'vertical sides oit' the billet will become buckled by its compressioiuaud free itself from the billet,

l am also able to use rolls comparative-ly soft, and easily returned to preserve thesize ot its passes. I am aware that it is not new to 'feed billets in a continuous ro\\r through a heating iui'nace by means of a `stcp-l'iy-stepmovement, also that it is notA new to feed billets from the furnace to the roll by a pushing bar. Means have also been employed torl vrotating billets within a heating'furnace by which heat is more uniformly applied to all the sides' of the billet With the consequent formation of scale.

ln the above description and in the accompanying drawings, l have illustrated the successive steps of improved procnew in the art of rolling'metal: V Referring to the accompanying drawings,

- which illustrate one manner of carrying'my jurious effect ot', the scale upon the surface,

' ess,.vvhich' so-far as I amgaware is broadly 'process into practice, l denotesa` heating f by a stepsby-step movement as each indi-4 vidualbillet Ais entered into the furnace by a reciprocatin,9,` pusher 4. 'As the billets are moved through the furnace their vertical *sides 5, Fig- 1, will beheld in close Contact and thereby protected from the direct 'ae tion of the heating i'ncdium, While the upper surfaces (i of the billets will graduallyaccumulate scale or oxid, which becomes stifliciently heavy as` the billets approach the furnace having sa longitudinal hearthv2, fA over which the row oi billets 3 are movedi delivery opening 7 to interfere with the roll- Fig. 1 by :L .push bar l0, to which a longitudinally 're-A ciprocating movement isgiven by means of amotel' ll, preferably reversing, which drives the pinch rolls' 12 and 13 running in frictional contact with the upper and under surfaces of the bar 10 which -is'preferf ably rectangular in cross section. Y.

The advancing end of the bar 10 is bis furcated at 14 and suitably shaped to engage y the end of the billet. lThe bar 10 is given a quarter twist, as ,at 15, Fig. 2. As the twisted section' l5 passes between "the rolls 12 and 13 a quarter 'twistwillbeiinparted to the bar 10 and to the billet engaged thereby, causing the billet to be turned exactly one quarter way around, and to present the sides 5, which are free from scale, to the rontacto the rolls, and bringingl the scale coated side 6 at right angles to the axes of the rolls, causing the scale to be vloosened and Vremoved bythe compression of the billet. I

The bar Y10, in the present/instance, is supported at the rear of therolls 1.2 and 13 byv a trough 16 capable of swinging ona pivot 17, and hung at its rear end by a ilexiblc connection with 'an elevated support, to allow a lateral motion to be imparted to the advancing end of the bar. .lfn order to cool the end of the bar 10 entering the furnace, la sprinkler 18 is einployed,'supplied by a swinging pipe 1v. If desired, a water cooled plate 20 may be placed in the hearth to assist in guiding the bar 1l). In carryingmy process into practice the bar l0 isy pushed forward by the rotation ot' the rolls 1? by means of a handle 2l.

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claim,

l. The herein described process of handlingand rolling billets, consisting in pushing the billets in :i continuous row from the receiving to the delivery end of e heating chamber, with the parallel and vertical sides of the billets in Contact, feeding :i billet allel sides of the billet into a position parallel with the axes of seid rolls during said feeding movement of the billet..

3. The herein described process of handling and rolling billets, consisting in passing the billets through a heating chamber, with their contiguous sides in Contact to reduce the formation of scale thereon, de-

livering 4seid billets by an endwise move-v ment to a stand of rollsand positively turning the billets a predetermined amount durin their' endwise movement to present the iellitivelyunsealed surfaces to the compresssurfaces of seid rolls. ated this twentX third day of June, 1917.

CHARLEb W. HAWTHORNE. Wlitnesses:

KARL O. MCCAUSLAND, W. G. Mower. 

